Showing posts with label Mariners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mariners. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2025

Going Old School

I have a whole list of blog topics to write about, but not enough time to write them! As a result, posts have gotten pushed back to the point of being forgotten. I'm resurrecting one of those posts now...
 
Although I'm far from a regular, I have made a few more stops at the local collectibles shop, Old School Cards and Collectables. I've been trying to go at least once every couple of months to support the business. (Not that he needs me, his shop appears to be doing quite well!) He's a great source for dime and quarter cards, even if that particular inventory can get a bit stale at times. Still, a few months back I stopped in on my lunch break, and found a good amount of cards I needed. 
 
I found a good amount of 70's Red Sox cards I needed:
 
 

An autograph of 2006 NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan, who started his 17-year career in Boston:
 
 
Some Red Sox subconsciously inspired by Tom's 1995 Skybox E-Motion blog:
 

And a lot of random cards that just caught my attention:
 



While I was perusing,  the shop owner was going through some hockey relic cards re recently acquired. I asked if he found any Sabres, and he actually had a couple I ended up buying:
 
  
The most recent stop was back in July. I was hoping to find a few cheap cards of this year's Hall of Fame inductees, particularly of Rich Allen and Billy Wagner, the two I had a severe lack of cards to do my annual Top 5 tributes. I did find some cards that technically featured Allen, like the 1974 Topps White Sox Team Checklist or the 1975 Topps White Sox team photo, but struck out with Wagner. (I made do with what I had) Oh course in my haste those 70's cards got filed away before I got a proper picture, but I did snap a shot of the other cards I picked up that day:
 
 
By the time this post publishes, I'll be overdue for another visit.  I'm sure I'll find something worth posting about then too!
 

Friday, August 8, 2025

1990 Upper Deck Pack War


One of the purchases at the card show I went to recently was three packs of 1990 Upper Deck. For whatever reason, I never opened up much Upper Deck growing up, so this is probably one of the few instances I had to open them. I thought it would be fun to do another pack war.
 
To recap, I award 3 points for every Hall of Fame player, plus 1 point for every All-Star Game selection and major award won. I also give every Red Sox card a bonus point, while subtracting a point for every Yankee card I come across. Whichever pack has the most total points wins! 
 

Pack #1


 
Neal Heaton - 1 point (All-Star)
Eric Hetzel - 1 point (Red Sox)
Dale Murphy - 18 points (2x MVP, 7x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger)
Dave Parker - 17 points (HOF, MVP, 7x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 3x Silver Slugger) 
Dan Plesac - 3 points (3x All-Star)
 
Pat Borders, Mark Carreon, Tony Castillo, John Cerutti, Chris Hammond, Carlos Martinez, Alejandro Pena, Dennis Powell, Dick Schofield, Jeff Wetherby, Houston Astros sticker - 0 points
 
Points scored: 40 

Raise your hand if you knew Neal Heaton was once an All-Star! I for sure didn't (thanks baseball-reference.com!) We're starting off with a solid pack highlighted by the newly enshrined Hall of Famer Dave Parker, and Dale Murphy, a guy who looks like he should be in when you compare him to Parker.
 

Pack #2


 
Roberto Alomar - 29 points (HOF, 12x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove, 4x Silver Slugger)
Wilson Alvarez - 1 point (All-Star )
Jesse Barfield - 3 points (All-Star, 2x Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, -1 for being a Yankee)
Kelly Gruber  - 4 points (2x All-Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger)
Reggie Jackson - 20 points (HOF, MVP, 14x All-Star, 2x Silver Slugger) 
Edgar Martinez - 15 points (HOF, 7x All-Star, 5x Silver Slugger)
Lance Parrish - 17 points (8x All-Star, 3x Gold Glove, 6x Silver Slugger)
Willie Randolph - 7 points (6x All-Star, Silver Slugger)
Mike Smithson - 1 point (Red Sox)
 
John Costello, Mike Gallego, Candy Maldonado, Rob Nelson, Jeff Robinson, Kevin Tapani, San Diego Padres sticker - 0 points
 
Points scored: 97 

Raise your hand if you knew Wilson Alvarez was an All-Star too! It's going to be hard to beat a pack with 3 Hall of Famers in it! The Reggie Jackson insert was especially a fun card to pull. 
 

Pack #3


 
Will Clark - 9 points (6x All-Star, Gold Glove, 2x Silver Slugger)
Shawon Dunston - 2 points (2x All-Star)
Tim Leary - 0 points (Silver Slugger,  -1 for being a Yankee)
Ramon Martinez - 1 point (All-Star) 
Mickey Pena - 1 point (Red Sox) 
Pascual Perez - 1 point (All-Star)
Mike Scott - 4 points (Cy Young Award, 3x All-Star)
Jerome Walton - 1 point (ROY  Award)
 
Geronimo Berroa, Tim Birtsas, Sid Bream, Chip Hale, Chad Kreuter, Pete O'Brien, Steve Olin, Minnesota Twins sticker - 0 points
 
Points scored: 19 points 
 
Raise your hand if you knew Tim Leary won a Silver Slugger Award! Not bad for someone who hit .269 with an OPS of .599 and a whopping 9 RBI! Too bad his lone point got negated because he's in pinstripes. This was the weakest pack of the bunch, with the only really noteworthy card being an All-Star card of Will Clark.
 

Pack #2 wins in a landslide! 











 
 

Monday, July 14, 2025

Top 5 Hall of Fame: Ichiro Suzuki

 
On July 27th, the Hall of Fame will officially recognize 5 new members. As I have done in years past, I will be honoring these great ball players in my own way throughout the week. Appropriately batting lead off is the Hall of Fame's first Asian member, the iconic Ichiro Suzuki. In tribute to his extraordinary career, I humbly present my 5 favorite cards of his that I own:
 

2001 Upper Deck Victory

#564 Ichiro Suzuki (ROO, RC)

 
I pretty much stopped collecting from 1993 - 2015, so the fact I have a Hall of Famer's rookie card from this gap in my hobby collection is pretty cool to me! Of course, people debate if a player coming over from the NPB are on the same level as traditional rookies. Ichiro sure didn't play like one, hitting .350 with 242 hits and 56 stolen bases in his first taste of MLB baseball. (Fun fact: The runner-up to Ichiro in the 2001 AL Rookie of the Year Award was none other than fellow 2025 inductee C.C. Sabathia!)
 

2010 Topps

#515 Seattle Mariners Franchise History (FH)


Of course, Ichiro didn't just win the Rookie of the Year Award in 2001, he also became just the 2nd player to win the MVP Award in his rookie year. He joined Ken Griffey Jr. as the only Seattle Mariners to win the award.
 

2012 Topps Opening Day

#50 Ichiro Suzuki

 
Ichiro wasn't just a great hitter. Starting (again) with his rookie season, Ichiro won 10 straight Gold Glove Awards for his fielding. Only Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays have won more as outfielders!
 

2018 Topps Update - Memorial Day Camo

#US153 Japan's Finest (VC, SN25)

 
As a collector, I'm not a big fan of the Camo parallels. But how could I not include this one? Being numbered to just 25 copies, it's a pretty rare card. (I'm the only member of the TCDB that owns one!) Ichiro's success helped pave the way for more Japanese players to play in North America, including this young Angels rookie that I heard was pretty good in his own right...
 

2024 Stadium Club

#244 Ichiro

 
It's truly amazing what Ichiro has accomplished in his big league career: Over 3,000 hits, including a single season record 262 in 2004. 10 Gold Gloves, 2 batting titles, 10 All-Star nods, 3 silver sluggers plus the ROY and MVP Awards. To think that he didn't even start in MLB until he was 27 years old!
 
Ichiro was an amazing player, and this honor is well deserved. Congrats, Ichiro!

Monday, May 19, 2025

Time Travel Trading Update #101

 
I'm going to lead off with a question for my faithful trade partners/readers - Is it worth putting the photos of the backs of cards? I do this so everyone is completely aware of condition, but it seems like I could save myself some time if I just did the fronts. Of course if there was some obvious condition issues present on the back of a card I would still show it, but if the backs look fine is it worth it? An added benefit would be that I can make the front pictures bigger going forward as well. It's just something I've been mulling over, and I'd like some outside input please.
 
Anyway, on to this month's new arrivals!
 
Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life!) leads things off with a sizable trade. The first batch is heavy with oddball and food issue baseball cards.

 
Bo also included some football cards, mainly from the 1980 Topps set. It's almost like he noticed another trader claiming a handful of them last month... ;)

 
Brendan (The View From The Third Floor) picked up a trio of cards this time around. His return volley hits all four major US sports!
 
   
New trader alert! Over on the TCDB, a collector named Jeff recently posted on the forum looking for vintage trade partners who are OK with receiving and sending low grade cards. I decided to take a shot at unloading a card I had in the stack that was in poor condition. (The card, a 1970 Topps football Tim Rossovich, had what I believe was black spray paint all over the back. You can see the card for yourself on the Time Travel Trading Update #74 post.) Anyway, Jeff agreed to take it off my hands for this 1961 Topps card.


It took me awhile before I noticed the team name had been meticulously altered. Someone was quite skilled with a typewriter!
 
I still have two trades incoming as of this writing, but they'll have to wait until next time. I had to get this post wrapped up earlier than usual, as this past weekend was a busy one - my oldest child graduated high school! 
 
My thanks to this month's trade partners Bo, Brendan, and Jeff!
 
As always, these cards are all available in exchange for an older card. You can claim your cards below, or through the TCDB (Kep75). Let's make some trades! 
 

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

 
 
2021-22 Donruss - Magicians (basketball)
 
2021-22 Donruss (soccer)
#183 Jose Macias (RR)    
 
2021 Pro Set
#PS16 Riley Greene
 
2019 Topps Opening Day
#20 Jon Lester

2017-18 Donruss (basketball)
#75 Chandler Parsons
 
2017 Topps - MLB Award Winners
#CYA-1 Rick Porcello      
 
2015-16 Donruss (basketball)
#49 John Wall 
 

2012 Topps Stickers
#237 Bernie Brewer (MAS)    
 
2011 Topps Lineage
#186 Mel Ott
 
2010 Topps (football)
#249 David Garrard
 
2010 Topps Chrome (football)
#C141 T.J. Houshmandzadeh
 
2009 Bowman - Chrome WBC Prospects
#BCW18 Tao Bu   
 
2009 Donruss Americana (non-sport)
#50 Francesco Quinn
 
2008 Topps - Trading Card History
#TCH31 Chipper Jones
 
2008 Topps New York Yankees
#NYY8 Jason Giambi
 
2008 Topps (football)
#301 Larry Fitzgerald (PB)   
 
2007 Upper Deck MLB Rookie Card of the Month
#ROM-4 Ryan Braun 
 
2007 Playoff Prestige (football) 
 
2006 Topps Updates & Highlights
#UH172 Mike Piazza (SH)
 
2004 Bowman Chrome
#263 Jeff Allison (FY, RC)   
 
 
2002 Flair
#57 Orlando Hernandez 
 
2002 Fleer Maximum
 
2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes
#88 Andy Petitte
 
2001 Topps Post 500 Home Run Club
#6 Harmon Killebrew 
 
 
1999-00 Topps (basketball)
#16 Eric William 
 
1999 SkyBox Metal Universe (football)
#116 Tiki Barber
 
1999 Stadium Club
#214 Tony Saunders   
 
1998 Donruss
#22 Tony Gwynn
 
1998 Donruss - Diamond Kings
#6 Kenny Lofton (DK, SN10000, PR9500)
 
1998 Pinnacle Performers
#14 Hideo Nomo

1998 Upper Deck Pop Weaver (racing)
#PW3 Rusty Wallace  
 
1997 Pinnacle Inside
#111 Matt Williams

1997 Pinnacle X-Press
#64 Craig Biggio    
 
1997 Scoreboard Mickey Mantle
#71 Mickey Mantle Day (1965)

1996 Leaf
 
1996 SP
 
1995 Cardtoons
#7 Fowl Boggs
 
1995 Finest (football)
#124 Trent Dilfer     
 
1995 SkyBox Lois & Clark (non-sport)
#73 Be Mine!
#75 Do You Love Me?
 
1994-95 Finest (basketball)
#43 Rex Chapman  

1994 Finest
#413 Mark Portugal
 
1994 Panini Stickers
#207 Sean Berry
#208 Wil Cordero    
 
1994 Pinnacle Church's Hometown Stars
#5 Kirby Puckett
#21 Edgar Martinez
#26 Ozzie Smith
 
1994 Classic Four Sport (multi-sport)
#145 Chad Penney   
 
1993-94 Score (hockey)
#442 Mark Recchi (LBM) 
 
 
1993 Post
#18 Darren Daulton 
 
1993 Classic '93 Hockey Draft (hockey)
#40 Saku Koivu 
 
1993 Classic Four Sport (multi-sport)
#246 Mike Rathje
 
1992 Diet Pepsi
#9 Bryan Harvey
 
 
1992 Front Row Draft Picks
#46 Ed Christian   
 
 
 
 
1992 Post
#26 Tony Gwynn 
 
1992 Score
 
1992 Score - 90's Impact Players
#48 Mike Mussina
#54 Doc Gooden

1992 Topps McDonald's Baseball's Best
#18 Will Clark

 
1992 Topps Batman Returns (non-sport)
#51 Sabotaging the Batmobile
#61 Oswald Outwitted!
 
1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Premier (hockey)
#127 John Cullen
#147 Mike Gartner (ORIG6)
#174 Jeremy Roenick (ORIG6)

1991-92 Pinnacle French (hockey)
#252 Paul Ranheim
 
1991-92 Pro Set - Collectibles (hockey)
#CC5 Wayne Gretzky (LL)  
 
1991-92 Pro Set French (hockey)
#306 Brian Skrudland (AS)
 
1991-92 Score Canadian English (hockey)
#349 Joe Sacco (TP, RC)  
 
1991-92 Fleer (basketball)
#92 Danny Manning
 
1991-92 Upper Deck (basketbal)
 
1991 Classic Best
#346 Steve Vondran   
 

1991 Donruss - Bonus Cards
#BC-9 Mark McGwrire (VAR)
 
 
1991 Score
 

1991 Ultra
#130 Lou Whitaker  
 
1991 Upper Deck
 
1991 Fleer (football)
 
1991 Pro Set (football)
 
1991 Pro Set Platinum (football)
#81 Lawrence Taylor
 
 
1991 Impel WCW (wrestling)
#157 Missy Hyatt

 
1990-91 Pro Set Super Bowl XXV Silver Anniversary (football)
#88 Nick Buoniconti
 
1990-91 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL (hockey)
#205 Eric Bissonnette

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier (hockey)
#46 Jody Hull (RC)
 
1990-91 Fleer (basketball)
#21 Kelly Tripucka
#21 Kelly Tripucka
 
1990-91 Hoops (basketball)
 
1990-91 Skybox (basketball)
#19 Kevin McHale
 

1990 Fleer
 
1990 Pacific Legends
#34 Don Kessinger
 
1990 Pacific Senior League
#154 Wayne Nordhagen 
 

1990 Upper Deck
 
1990 Pro Set (football)
#668 Stan Humphries (RC)
 
1990 Score (football)
#327 Dalton Hilliard (GF)
 
1990 Topps Traded (football)
#102T Howard Cross (RC)
 
1989-90 O-Pee-Chee (hockey)
#141 Mike Allison 
 
1989-90 Fleer (basketball)

1989-90 Hoops (basketball)
#64 Armon Gilliam
 
1989 Classic
#176 Kirby Puckett 

1989 Donruss
#255 Mark Grace (VAR)
 
1989 Fleer Baseball's Exciting Stars
#20 Tony Gwynn
#34 Kirby Puckett
   
 
1989 Star
#51 Rich Garces
 
 
1989 Topps Ames 20/20 Club
#32 Dave Winfield
 
1989 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars
#13 Tony Gwynn  

1989 Pacific Cards & Comics Crossed Bats (unlicensed)
#6 Will Clark
 
1989 Pro Set (football)
#58 Boomer Esiason
 
1988 Card Collectors T-206 Reprint
#NNO Matty McIntyre
 
1988 Donruss 
 
 
1988 Pacific Legends I
 
1988 Score
#385 Tony Gwynn
 
#186 Rafael Palmeiro 
 
1988 Topps Toys "R" Us Rookies
#13 Mike Henneman
 
1988 Topps Traded
 
1988 Topps (football)
 
1987-88 Topps (hockey)
#119 Kelly Hrudey 

1987 Donruss
#404 Bud Black

1987 Fleer Update
#U-36 Dan Gladden
 
1987 Fleer Update - Glossy
#U-69 Bill Madlock 
 
1987 Fleer Limited Edition
#16 Steve Garvey 
 
1987 Fleer Update
#U-108 Kevin Seitzer
 
1987 O-Pee-Chee
#353 Ernie Camacho 
 

1987 Topps 
 
 
1987 Zoot U.S. of ALF (non-sport)

#43 Texas - The Lone Star State
 
1986 Donruss
 
1986 Donruss Highlights
#1 Will Clark
#25 Fernando Valenzuela
 
 
1986 Fleer - Fleer All-Star Team
#7 Rickey Henderson
 
1986 Fleer Baseball's Best Sluggers vs. Pitchers
 
 
1986 True Value Super Stars
#6 Fernando Valenzuela 
 
1986 Topps (football)

1985 Donruss
#463 Doug Flynn
 
 
1985 Fleer Update
#U-10 Hubie Brooks
 
1985 Topps
#403 Cory Snyder (OLY, RC)    

1985 Topps Drake's Big Hitters Plus Super Pitchers
#3 Don Baylor
 
1985 Topps (football)
#38 Bill Bates (RC)
#51 Danny White 
 
1984-85 Topps (hockey)
#3 Tom Fergus  

1984 Fleer
#210 Ben Oglivie
 
 
1984 Topps Drake's Big Hitters
#19 Fred Lynn
#21 Gary Matthews
#32 Dave Winfield  
 
1983 Donruss
#22 Johnny Bench (DK)  
 
 
1983 O-Pee-Chee
#179 Luis Tiant (SV)  
 
1983 Topps Drake's Big Hitters
#13 Steve Kemp
 
1983 Topps (football)
#109 George Rogers (TL)

1983 Topps The A-Team (non-sport)
 
1982-85 Galasso Baseball Hobby Card Report T-206 Reprints
 
1982 Topps
 
1982 Topps (football) 
 
1981-82 Topps (hockey)
#51 Dale McCourt (TL)
 
1981 Donruss  
 
1981 Fleer
 
1981 Topps
 
 
1980 Topps 
#65 Al Bumbry
 
#80 Russ Francis
#83 Bobby Jackson
#84 Mike Bragg
#89 Don Cockroft
#97 Greg Coleman
#98 Charley Young
#106 Sherman White
#123 Randy Cross
#126 John James
#131 Jimmie Giles (RC) 
#167 Roland Hooks
#172 Leonard Thompson (RC)
#181 Duriel Harris
#185 Charlie Waters
#194 Danny Buggs 
#199 Louie Giammona (RC)
#252 Rob Lytle
 
1979 Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars
#25 Darrell Porter (COR, SP)

1979 Topps 
 
1979 Topps (football)

1978 Topps  
 
1978 Topps (football)
#316 Greg Landry
 
1977 Dover Publications Classic Baseball Cards Reprints
#10 Lefty O'Doul
#18 Jimmie Dykes
#99 Hal Chase
#NNO Melvin Harder
#NNO Fred Merkle
 
1977 Topps
 
1977 Topps (football)

1976 Topps
 
1975 TCMA 1954 Cleveland Indians
#NNO Don Mossi 
 
1975 Topps
 
1975 Topps (football)
#47 Bivian Lee
#89 Jimmy Johnson
#101 Bob Windsor
 
 
1974 Topps - Traded
#43T Jim Wynn
 

 
1972 Topps  
 
1972 Topps (football)
#11 Bobby Joe Green
 
1971 Topps
 
1971 Topps (football)
#8 Walt Garrison (RC)
 
1970 Topps
#2 Diego Segui
 
1969-70 Topps (hockey)
#21 Phil Goyette
 
1969 Topps
#14 Al McBean
 
1969 Topps - Four-in-One Singles (football)
#NNO Ralph Baker
#NNO John Bramlett
#NNO Billy Martin
#NNO Bob Talamini 
 
1968 Topps
 
1967-68 Topps (hockey)
#30 Reg Fleming

1966 Topps
#10 Tony Cloninger
 
1965 Topps
 
1964 Ed-U-Cards Washington Senators Baseball Card Game
#NNO Ball

1964 Topps 
 
1963 Topps
#26 Ray Moore
 
1962 Topps
1961 Topps
#208 Larry Osborne
 
1960 Topps   

1959 Topps

1957 Topps
 
1955 Bowman
 
1955 Topps
 
1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller
 
1954 Topps
#215 Ed McGhee

1954 Bowman Power For Peace (non-sport)
#91 USS Coral Sea (CVB43)
 
 
1952 Topps Look 'n See (R714-16) (non-sport)
#75 Elias Howe
 
1952 Topps Wings Friend or Foe (R707-4) (non-sport)
#129 PO-1W Lockheed
 
1951 Bowman (football)
#118 Frank Reagan
 
1951 Topps Red Backs
#13 Dale Mitchell
#51 Eddie Robinson 
 
 
1939 Wills's Garden Flowers by Richard Sudell (non-sport)
#38 Petunia

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler
 
1938 Churchman's Boxing Personalities (boxing)
#45 Ted Broadribb
#48 Arthur J. Elvin 

1937-38  Diamond Matchbooks Tan 6 (hockey)
#NNO Glenn Brydson
 
1936 Godfrey Phillips Screen Stars Embossed (Series B) (non-sport)
#4 Robert Taylor  
 
1935 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Eighth Series (J9-4) (non-sport)
#10 California Jay
 
1935 Stephen Mitchell & Son "A Gallery of 1934" (non-sport)
#47 Lord Trenchard 

1933 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America Fifth Series (J9-1) (non-sport)
#5 Indigo Bunting  
 
1930 All-Fair Authors Card Game (non-sport)
#13 Louisa May Alcott 

1928 Player's Flags of the League of Nations (non-sport)
#42 Roumania
 
1925 Sports Records (multi-sport)
 
1924 Imperial Tobacco Co. of Canada (ITC) Dogs Series (non-sport)
#4 Otter-Hound
 
1924 Lambert & Butler Wonders of Nature (non-sport)
#25 Army-Worms and Fly 

1922 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Third Series (J7) (non-sport)
#7 Prothonotary Warbler

1915 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America First Series (J5) (non-sport)
#1 Quail
 
1910 Champions (T218) (multi-sport)
 
1890 N245 Sweet Caporal Actors & Actresses (non-sport)
#NNO Frankie Raymond

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 366 (2 pending!)
Unique trading partners: 88

Number of cards mailed out: 1,948
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 2,812
Year of oldest card received: 1890